Guiding Light
by DominoTyler
Summary: Christmas Fic 2012! When Luna gets stuck in a blizzard while searching for the Burrow, she quickly finds shelter. Along with shelter, she finds Draco Malfoy, and they share several deep conversations as they await their rescue. Just some Draluna fluff for the Holiday! Not quite sure where this came from but here you go! Merry whatever you celebrate! T for one swear.


**2012 Christmas Fic! ^^ HAVE SOME WEIRD DRALUNA FLUFF FOR CHRISTMAS. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM OKAY. I don't know why I'm in all caps, either.**

Luna Lovegood always enjoyed Christmas. She loved every part of it - the lights and decorations, the parties, and especially getting together with her friends to celebrate the holiday. And, for some reason, this holiday felt like it would be the best of them all. After dressing in her favorite Christmas sweater and skirt, she bundled up in her snow-boots and her warmest cloak, and she donned her fuzziest hat, mittens and scarf. Then she picked up her bag of gifts for all of her friends, and headed out of her house on the hill.  
She began the journey to her friends' house through the snow, enjoying the crisp cool of the air and the light snow that sprinkled over the land like pixie dust.

Draco Malfoy had completely relinquished himself to the fact that this Christmas was going to be a lonely one. He had bought himself a Christmas - a new quill - and he had bought the items to have his dinner for one. He'd even bought himself a Christmas tree and wrapped a few empty boxes to put beneath it to make himself seem less pathetic.  
But it was difficult to ignore the fact that all of his friends had either died or stayed on the side of the Death Eaters while he had joined the Order of the Phoenix.  
So this Christmas would be a lonely one, and he was okay with that.  
That is, until he received an owl inviting him to Christmas with the Order at the Burrow.  
Then he spend the next three days deciding if he wanted to go. Did he really want to get all dressed up to go and pretend like he was having a great time with people who were trying way to hard to include him in the traditions they had created before him? Most of them probably didn't even want him there. It had taken him almost 2 years just to get some people in the Order to tolerate him.  
However, there was one person that he knew would be attending, and this person was the very reason that he decided to send an Owl back to Remus, letting him know that he would be attending this little shindig going on.  
And that person was Luna Lovegood.  
He didn't fancy her, per se - it was just that she fascinated him. Every time he was in her presence he became more and more curious. She said such strange and wonderful things, and always left Draco wanting more.  
So he went to the party. He bought a jar of pickles to bring to the party and bought a huge assortment of tree ornaments, wrapping them each individually to give out as presents to everyone. Then he took something special from a small chest of things he had brought with him after his parents had died and his Manor was being taken by the ministry. It was something he'd found at Hogwarts his very first year, when he'd been wandering the Forbidden Forest alone late one night. It was a crystal sun, and it was one of his most prized possessions. He wasn't sure why, but it was. He'd found it the night before he'd planned on leaving to spend Christmas with his parents. Or, to spend Christmas by himself while his parents partied with the rest of the Pureblooded community. He was feeling particularly lonely, when he'd found the sun, and, for some reason, he was filled with such wonder upon its sight, that the kept it, and had been wondering what to do with it all these years.  
This was the day he knew what he had to do with it, he decided as he placed it in a box and wrapped it up as neatly as he knew how. Then he tied it with a bow and placed it in the pocket of his cloak, and he grabbed his jar of pickles and his sack of ornaments, and he apparated from his small shack in the mountains, appearing somewhere in the general direction of the Burrow.

Meanwhile, Luna was afraid to have found herself terribly, terribly lost. She would have apparated to the Burrow, if the thought had occurred to her, but it hadn't, so she simply continued to wander through the blizzard, wondering if she'd even gone in the right direction in the first place. It was no matter - she was sure she'd find her way eventually. So she kept going. She skipped for a while to keep warm, but grew tired of that eventually, so she sang as she walked to keep warm. A few times she was pretty sure she saw a light, but then it would go away and she would begin searching for the Burrow again. She wasn't too cold and she wasn't too frightened - she was perfectly okay with such a fate.

Draco was met with a loud cheer that he wasn't sure was completely genuine or if it was not, but he was thankful that they were trying. Without his parents and friends constantly around, he had learned that he could be really very socially awkward in times like this.  
"I brought some pickles," he said, holding out the jar.  
Mrs. Weasley pushed forward through all of the people and took the jar from him. "Thank you very much, dear," she said, patting him on the cheek. "That was very kind of you. You didn't have to do that."  
Hermione took his bag of gifts and began arranging them neatly beneath the tree, with the rest of the gifts set out for everyone. It seemed everyone was there, plus some. A few people had brought dates along. Some had dates with people from the Order, such as Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione. Everyone seemed to be there, except the one someone who Draco wanted to see.  
"Now we just have to wait for Luna, and then we can start supper," said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully.  
"Are you sure she's coming?" Remus said carefully, peering out through the curtains at the raging blizzard. "I would think she'd be here by now."  
"Perhaps she's been delayed by the blizzard?" Hermione offered. "I'm sure she'll make it eventually."  
And so they waited patiently. The appetizers were cracked out and everyone was too full for supper within minutes. In an attempt to be friendly, Longbottom complimented the pickles and asked where Draco had bought them. The conversation was so painfully awkward that neither pursued it any farther.  
Finally, everyone started to realize that something must have gone wrong. Hermione performed a complicated spell of her own design to try and decipher if she was within a mile of the house - she was, in fact, very close, but she was headed in the wrong direction, almost as if she had passed by the house and was now making her way on into the fields.  
A search party was organized. Everyone split into groups of two or three. Draco was with Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, two people he could tolerate. They weren't awfully cheerful or anything - they were just the right amount of both optimism and pessimism and he admired that.  
Each group headed off in a similar direction but, as they made their way, they began to separate and sweep a larger portion of land. It was difficult to keep track of everybody in the swirling snow and the suffocating blackness, so the three boys held onto the sleeves of each other's jackets. Draco was on the outside, so directed the light of his wand out in front of them. The light, usually the brightest he could imagine, was now so dim he could barely see his wand tip. Things were getting dangerous, especially when they got into the field and began to trek through straw taller than themselves.  
"Maybe we should turn back and send out for help," Dean said over the howling wind. "There are people trained for this; people who have spells for this. We'll never find her on our own."  
Draco nodded. "You two go back and get help. I'll keep going."  
"Don't be mad!" Seamus said. "You'll get lost and killed, too, if you stay alone. Come back with us."  
Draco let go of Seamus's shirtsleeve. "Don't worry about me. I'm good at things like this. I'll be fine. I'll go find Lovegood and keep her safe while you send out someone to rescue the both of us. Go on - the faster you go the faster we can get back to our party."  
Dean and Seamus looked at each other through the snow for a split second, then looked back at Draco. He nodded to them and turned, taking off into the blizzard, not giving them another chance to object.

"Oh, dear," Luna said to herself. She stopped walking and looked all around her. "I have no idea where I am. Perhaps I should just sit down and wait for this blizzard to die down a bit."  
Performing one of her favorite spells, one her father taught her when she was very little, she created a little ice hut from the snow around her, an igloo, and she walked inside. It was nice and cozy - not entirely warm, but it blocked out the snow and the wind, so it was better than being outside. She conjured a candle and lit the wick, creating a small hole in the room of her igloo for the very little smoke to float through. She sat down in front of her candle and closed her eyes in contentment. It was really very nice in here. She was seriously considering becoming an Eskimo at that moment.  
She leaned back on her hands and began to hum a Christmas carol.

Draco took a deep breath and performed the spell. There. Now all sounds but human voices were gone. It was so quiet - he had become so used to the sound of the wind rushing through his ears. Now he could hear the blood rushing in his ears - he could hear his own pulsing heartbeat. It was beginning to drive him crazy.  
Off in the distance he heard the others calling out for Luna. That was ridiculous - there was no way that she could hear them. The best they could do was hope they managed to stumble upon her as they were walking along.  
There was something he could hear now that he couldn't when all he could hear was the blizzard. It was very soft and it was coming from somewhere up ahead.  
He wished he knew a spell to block out the sight of snow - it was all that filled his vision. Snow and darkness.  
They did ask for a white Christmas, after all.

Seamus and Dean practically fell into the warm, cozy burrow. Mrs. Weasley, Fred, Tonks and Sirius had all found their ways back.  
"Where's Draco?" Mrs. Weasley asked them.  
"He went ahead by himself," Dean replied. "We couldn't convince him to come with us. We decided it would be best to contact a professional."  
"Already done," Sirius replied. "I sent a patronus about five minutes ago. They said they'll get here as soon as they possibly can, and then they'll head out and search for Luna."  
"Maybe we're being too forward," Mrs. Weasley said nervously. "What if she hasn't even left her house yet?"  
"That's a thought," Fred said. "Dean and Seamus - care to go on another journey through the frozen tundra with me?"  
They agreed, and the three of them left the cozy Burrow, headed in the direction of Luna's shack, on the property where her father's house had previously been.

The light sound was getting louder and louder the more Draco walked in this forward direction. He just wished he could see something. That was all. He couldn't see a thing.  
But he could hear something, and the closer he got, the more sure he was that it was Luna. All he could think was "Don't stop humming, Luna."

Luna was very into her humming. That is, until she heard a sudden sound outside her igloo. She stopped humming, slightly startled, and stood up to peer outside into the blizzard.

"There," Draco said aloud. Right before him, only a few feet, was a bright light shining through the storm.  
The humming stopped.  
"Shit." He'd scared her. He didn't think anyone would even be able to hear him in this storm, but she had.  
Then the light was blocked out.

Luna held her wand out before her into the night, trying to illuminate everything before her, and she began to hum again; slowly, not completely afraid, but not sure what was going on.

There! He kept it in his head this time. There was the light again, and the humming.  
He was close now.  
"Luna!"  
It stopped for a moment. The moment felt like forever.

Luna stopped humming, waiting for the call again.

"Luna, it's Draco!" he called again, hoping desperately that she could hear him.

She peeked her head further outside. "I'm here!" She called cheerfully.

Draco's heart stopped. "Luna! Keep humming so I can find you!"

A smile formed on Luna's face and she placed her lips together and hummed.

Draco smiled and followed the sound of Luna's humming, heading towards the soft light in front of him.

Luna couldn't see him until he'd crashed right into her, knocking the both of them backwards into the igloo.

She was very warm, which was a surprise coming from the chill of the blizzard outside. He'd landed with an arm on either side of her head, his chest hovering slightly over her face. When he realized his position, he quickly righted himself, pulling Luna up off of the cold ground to stand next to him.  
Then he did something neither of them expected - he pulled her into a hug. Luna didn't mind, of course, and she hugged him right back. He was very cold.  
"Won't you come in," she said, the first of the two to pull away.  
Draco looked around her little igloo. "Everyone is looking for you," he said stupidly.  
"Oh, that's very kind of them," she said. "It appears that I've gotten quite a bit lost in the blizzard. It came very suddenly, you know."  
Draco nodded. "The others are send out for more help."  
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," she replied. "I'm sure this will all be over very soon."  
She took a seat in front of her tiny candle and patted the ground beside her. Draco sat down.  
They sat in a silence, uncomfortable for Draco and very comfortable for Luna.  
"Well," she said finally. "While we're here, we could exchange gifts!"  
Before Draco could say anything, she had turned to the bag she had sitting at the back of her igloo and began rummaging through it before she came out with a very strangely shaped package. Along with being shaped strangely, it was also wrapped strangely, in some weird sort of paper that felt like a liquid.  
"Go ahead, open it!" She said.  
Draco took it into his lap and stared at it, almost as if he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with it - which, he wasn't sure, because of the strange wrapping. But finally he placed his finger beneath one of the paper flaps, like he would with normal paper, and he tore it open.  
It appeared to be some sort of horn. It was squiggly and jagged.  
"It's the horn of a Portuguese Long-Snout!" She exclaimed excitedly.  
Draco's eyes widened. "But they're extinct."  
She smiled, gazing at the horn fondly. "Yes. My father and I discovered it one day while we were travelling through an archeological dig in Portugal on Christmas holiday. He gave it to me. Legend says that anyone in possession of the horn of a Portuguese Long-Snout will have good luck."  
Draco was sincerely shocked. "Why are you giving this to me?"  
Those protuberant grey eyes, usually so dreamy, seemed to pierce right through his soul.  
"Well, you've been quite down on your luck recently," she said quietly. "It's really been bothering me, so I decided to do something about it!"  
Draco couldn't have stopped it if he'd wanted to - a smile spread across his face.  
"I - er -" He scratched the back of his neck a bit awkwardly. "I got you something as well. It's...it's not very much but..." He shook his head and reached into his pocket, retrieving the present from deep inside of it. Then he handed it to her quickly, before he could change his mind. It seemed silly to give it to her now, but he did it, anyways.  
She unwrapped it not sloppily and not neatly - that is, she didn't save the paper, but she didn't tear it to shreds, either. Then she squinted at it in the dim light, holding it up to the small candle-flicker in order to see it better.  
"It's very pretty," she said quietly. "Where...where did you get this?"  
"I found it, actually," Draco replied. "In the Forbidden Forest, during my first year."  
"This...Draco Malfoy, this..." she was stunned speechless. "This is a real find!" She finally breathed. "It's... It's pixie glass!"  
"Pixie glass?" Draco asked, eyebrows raised. "Those annoying little buggers that cause all sorts of mayhem?"  
Luna shook her head. "No, it's just called pixie glass. It's made by elves."  
Draco was even more lost than before. "Like House-Elves?"  
She shook her head once again and looked Draco in the eyes in that way she did. "No, like light-elves. They live in the woods. They're very tiny, and they make little trinkets such as these for the people who pass through. They usually serve some sort of purpose...I wonder what this one does?"  
They discussed their ideas for several moments before they grew silent, and this time, it was quite comfortable. The glow from the candle was very calming, and the noise outside was barely audible inside their little hut. Draco felt he could have stayed in here for the rest of his life, just he and Luna.  
It was then that he discovered the extent of his feelings for the blonde girl.

After having found Luna's small shack completely void of any living thing - besides her pet Phoenix - Seamus, Dean and Fred headed straight back to the Burrow. They got there just as several men from the ministry appeared. They were the Wizard Retrieval Force; their job was to retrieve wizards in danger. They were prepared, charmed against the elements. They had heads full of spells for finding wizards lost in blizzards, and were prepared to head out.

"...and that's why I don't particularly like cats," Luna concluded calmly.  
Draco hadn't spoken in some time, but he knew that it was now his turn. "That was a very interesting story. I guess I've never really thought about cats enough to know if I like them or not."  
"Hm..." Luna replied. "I wonder what all things I've never thought about. It seems impossible to imagine that there are things a person hasn't thought about, but I suppose there are so many things out there that it's completely inevitable that someone's never thought of most of them. I wonder if there ever was a person who thought of everything."  
"Probably not," Draco said thoughtfully. "But you're on your way. Maybe that person will be you?"  
"You think?" she said. She didn't say it like he'd given her a compliment - she thought about it as if she was genuinely curious to know if he really thought she could possibly think of everything.  
"Of course, Luna," Draco said. "Out of everyone I know, I'm pretty sure you're the most intelligent person I've met. Probably even brighter than Granger, who, I have to admit, knows practically everything. But I think you could know more than her with barely any effort."  
"Oh, but what would she have then?" Luna shook her head. "No. I think I'll leave the thinking to Hermione. That's what she does best."  
Draco was quiet for a moment. "And what do you do best?"  
A soft smile spread across Luna's face as she leaned back and closed her eyes. "Dream."  
She looked completely perfect, lying there. Her hair, still slightly damp from the snow, was splayed out around her. Her eyelids were a pale lavender, and her skin was as white as the snow still falling around them.  
In the next instant, he found his lips on hers. Two instances later, and he had already pulled away, quick as a flash.  
Her eyes opened slowly.  
Draco had his arms wrapped around his knees and was staring at the candle intently. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He didn't know what he was thinking. That was completely inappropriate.  
"Don't be," she said cheerfully. "I've been waiting for you to do that all evening."  
Draco looked at her, surprised. She was smiling.  
"You..."  
"Thank you for the present, Draco," she interrupted. "It's wonderful. And I think I know what it was meant to do."  
He tilted his head sideways, curious to know what she thought.  
She left the igloo and held out the crystal sun. Draco watched from the entrance as it caught the faintest bit of illumination, and was soon ablaze with light. It was so bright that it penetrated right through the snow, showing the two of them the team of WRF that were desperately searching for them, ready to take them through the blizzard and back to the Burrow.  
She turned and looked over her shoulder at him. "It was meant to be your guiding light," she said. "It was leading you to this moment, this day." She turned around and knelt down. "The day we became friends."  
"Friends?" Draco swallowed hard. She was very close to his face. "What...kind of friends?"  
She grinned. "Any kind of friend you want to be."  
He pulled her closer for another kiss, and this one lasted slightly longer than just an instant.

The WRF's took them back to the Burrow, where everyone returned to celebrate Christmas. It was a bit delayed, but after all of the trekking through the snow, they were glad for a nice hot meal. Everyone exchanged gifts, and afterwards, Draco walked Luna back to her home.  
"Did you really mean it?" Draco asked when he was about to leave her at her door. "Do you really think I found this sun so it could lead me to you?"  
"I can't think of any other purpose it may have had," she said softly. "But I'm glad it did, Mr. Malfoy."  
Draco smiled at her. "I'm glad, too. Good night, Luna."  
Luna kissed his cheek. "And goodnight to you, Mr. Malfoy. Merry Christmas."

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY. :)**


End file.
